This document illustrates the
ease of converting a D&D 3e Monster into the HERO System.

D&D 3e Stat Block

The Hippogriff is described as
follows in the OGL System Reference Document:

HIPPOGRIFF

Large Magical Beast

Hit Dice:

3d10+9 (25 hp)

Initiative:

+2

Speed:

50
ft. (10 squares), fly 100 ft. (average)

Armor Class:

15
(1 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 13

Base Attack/Grapple:

+3/+11

Attack:

Claw
+6 melee (1d4+4)

Full Attack:

2
claws +6 melee (1d4+4) and bite +1 melee (1d8+2)

Space/Reach:

10
ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks:

Special Qualities:

Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent

Saves:

Fort
+6, Ref +5, Will +2

Abilities:

Str
18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8

Skills:

Listen +4, Spot +8

Feats:

Dodge, Wingover

Environment:

Temperate hills

Organization:

Solitary, pair, or flight (712)

Challenge Rating:

2

Treasure:

None

Alignment:

Always neutral

Advancement:

46
HD (Large); 79 HD (Huge)

Level Adjustment:

Hippogriffs are aggressive flying creatures that combine
features of horses and giant eagles. Voracious omnivores,
hippogriffs will hunt humanoids as readily as any other meal. A
typical hippogriff is 9 feet long, has a wingspan of 20 feet,
and weighs 1,000 pounds.

COMBAT

Hippogriffs
dive at their prey and strike with their clawed forelegs. When
they cannot dive, they slash with claws and beak. Mated pairs
and flights of these creatures attack in concert, diving
repeatedly to drive away or kill intruders. Hippogriffs fight to
the death to defend their nests and their hatchlings, which are
prized as aerial mounts and fetch a handsome price in many
civilized areas.

Skills:
Hippogriffs have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.

TRAINING A HIPPOGRIFF

A hippogriff
requires training before it can bear a rider in combat.

Training a
hippogriff requires six weeks of work and a DC 25 Handle Animal
check. Riding a hippogriff requires an exotic saddle. A
hippogriff can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider
cannot also attack unless he or she succeeds on a Ride check.

Hippogriff
eggs are worth 2,000 gp apiece on the open market, while young
are worth 3,000 gp each. Professional trainers charge 1,000 gp
to rear or train a hippogriff.

Carrying
Capacity: A light load
for a hippogriff is up to 300 pounds; a medium load, 301600
pounds; and a heavy load, 601900 pounds.

D&D 3e Monsters As Races Conversion

According to the D&D 3e
Monsters as Races rules, the Hippogriff transitions to a PC
Race as follows.

Each hex in the HERO System is 6.5 feet, so 50/6.5 = 8". This
converts into the HERO System as such:

Fleet: +2" Running

Real Cost: 4 Points

Winged
Flight: Fly 100 ft.

Each hex in the HERO System is 6.5 feet, so 100/6.5 = 15". The
Hippogriff should be able to fly around for quite a while
without getting tired, so we'll make it 1/2 END, and of course
wings make this style of Flight Restrainable. This converts into
the HERO System as such:

This translates into 12 Real
Cost worth of damage mitigation in the HERO System.

Tough Hide: Armor (4
PD/4 ED)

Real Cost: 12 Points

Accurate: +3 Base Attack

This translates into +1 OCV in
the HERO System

Accurate: +1 HtH

Real Cost: 5 Points

Claws: 1d4

The full attack reveals that the
Hippogriff makes a double claw attack. There are several ways to
model this in the HERO System ranging from Two Weapon Fighting
to Autofire, but since this is such a low dice of effect and
represents animal claws as well an accepted practice is to take
a larger attack with the Reduced Penetration Limitation used to
represent two smaller attacks.

Basically, when the damage is
rolled for this attack its split in half and each half is
compared against the opponents defenses. This version is
slightly better than 1d4 (which would equate to a 1/2D6), but
due to differences in how defenses work between the two games,
this is a more realistically threatening ability.

The Hippogriffs are alert. Using
the divide by four method to calculate Skill levels, we would
gain a +1 PER for Hearing and a +2 PER for Sight from this. We
can go ahead and coalesce a +1 Sight and Hearing level to save a
point.

However an important thing to
keep in mind is that the HERO System has Range Penalties that
apply to PER checks, and Hippogriffs are going to often be
flying pretty high. Thus its not inappropriate to give them some
Telescopic Levels with their vision so that they can see things
on the ground from high up.

This Feat is actually weaker
than a +1 DCV level, but for simplicities sake we'll call it +1
DCV.

Dodge: +1 DCV

Real Cost: 5 Points

Wingover

This Feat could be handled in
one of two ways. The first way, we could apply the No Turn Mode
Advantage to the creatures Flight Power. The other way
translates directly into Movement Skill Levels. Since the
creature does have a Turn Mode but can over come it with effort
(a feat) we'll go with the later.

As a side note these Skill
Levels also allow the Monster to accelerate and decelerate
faster, and gain a DCV bonus when dodging if they don't use them
to improve their Turn rate in a given Phase.

Wingover: +2 Flight
Skill Levels

Real Cost: 4 Points

FINISHED

That's basically it, aside from identifying any downsides
suffered by a Hippogriff due to their anatomy or nature.

Hippogriffs have Animal Intelligence, and limited
manipulation since they lack hands. They are
also big enough to
qualify for a Large Size Disadvantage, though I'm not going
to give them any of the abilities in the Large Size Template
since they're borderline (this is a judgment call, and a GM
preferring to give them some Knockback Resistance or the
like from the Large Size Template Package would certainly be
within their rights to do so).

Hippogriffs are aggressive flying creatures
that combine features of horses and giant eagles. Voracious omnivores,
hippogriffs will hunt humanoids as readily as any other meal. A typical
hippogriff is 9 feet long, has a wingspan of 20 feet, and weighs 1,000
pounds.

Hippogriffs dive at their prey and strike
with their clawed forelegs. When they cannot dive, they slash with claws and
beak. Mated pairs and flights of these creatures attack in concert, diving
repeatedly to drive away or kill intruders. Hippogriffs fight to the death
to defend their nests and their hatchlings, which are prized as aerial
mounts and fetch a handsome price in many civilized areas.

TRAINING A HIPPOGRIFF

A hippogriff requires training before it
can bear a rider in combat. Training a hippogriff requires six weeks of work
and a DC 25 Handle Animal check. Riding a hippogriff requires an exotic
saddle. A hippogriff can fight while carrying a rider.

HIPPOGRIFF COMMODITIES

Hippogriff eggs are worth 2,000 gp apiece
on the open market, while young are worth 3,000 gp each. Professional
trainers charge 1,000 gp to rear or train a hippogriff.